RECAP: Red Wings enter 2024 NHL All-Star Break after falling to Senators, 3-2, in overtime

DETROIT -- Playing their final game before the 2024 NHL All-Star Break, the Detroit Red Wings battled back to secure a point in a tight 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

Goalie Alex Lyon made 22 saves in his seventh consecutive start for the Red Wings (26-18-6; 58 points), who finished the month of January with a 9-2-2 record. Netminder Joonas Korpisalo stopped 23-of-25 shots for the Senators, who won their second consecutive game to improve to 20-25-2 (42 points) this season.

"Outstanding," Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said of the month. "We put ourselves back in the fight. It's all you can ask, a great push from the guys. We'll get the break now and get back to work. This was a good step for us but it's all that it was for us, a step."

Daniel Sprong opened the scoring at 8:57 of the first period, one-timing a shot past Korpisalo to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead after Joe Veleno capitalized on a turnover by the Senators' Erik Brannstrom. Notching his 13th goal of the season, Sprong has collected 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 17 games since Dec. 22.

Despite leading on the scoreboard, Detroit trailed Ottawa in shots, 8-3, after 20 minutes.

Pulling the Senators even (1-1) just 3:09 into second period, Mark Kastelic tipped a Jacob Bernard-Docker point shot for his second goal of the season.

After jumping out of the penalty box, captain Brady Tkachuk put Ottawa ahead, 2-1, at 14:32 of the second period on a breakaway set up by Shane Pinto. Tkachuck, who extended his goal streak to three straight games, paces the Senators with 22 goals this season.

"I thought we could have done a little bit better and found ourselves in a better situation after the second," Lalonde said. "But the reality was we're down a goal going into the third. You guys know the numbers, very hard to get points."

Breathing new life into the crowd at Little Caesars Arena, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin tied the game 2-2 at 11:15 of the third period with a shot from the top of the slot. J.T. Compher and Olli Maatta had the assists on Larkin’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season, which pushed his point streak to 12 consecutive games.

Larkin became the seventh player in Red Wings franchise history with multiple point streaks of at least 12 contests, joining Steve Yzerman, Gordie Howe, John Ogrodnick, Norm Ullman, Syd Howe and Ted Lindsay.

"It's one of those times when you're just feeling good and the team is playing well," Larkin said about his current point streak. "It's just nice to contribute when the team is winning. We've had guys do it, all four lines, all season. I was kind of hoping that one went off Fisch (Christian Fischer) tonight because he deserves it. He'll tell you all about his third assist and his points that don't end up on the scoresheet."

Ottawa dominated possession in overtime, leading to Pinto's game winner at 2:05.

Wednesday was a milestone night for a pair of Detroit skaters. Veleno played his 200th career NHL game, while Alex DeBrincat skated in his 500th career NHL game.

"It's a pretty cool accomplishment," Veleno said about reaching the 200-game milestone. "Pretty happy about that for myself, but I want to keep playing more games. I'm going to keep working on my game. I'm trying to get better as a player and do my best to be successful."

Larkin said the Red Wings are entering the All-Star Break with confidence.

"We got a point tonight," Larkin said. "Pretty solid month for our team. We got a little bit of a break. Throughout the season, you get bumps and bruises, illness, whatever it may be. It's a good break for a lot of guys. We'll come back refreshed. February is another tough month, got to be ready to go."

NEXT UP: After an eight day-hiatus, Detroit will host the Vancouver Canucks for Kids Day at Little Caesars Arena on Feb. 10.

This weekend, fans can also cheer on DeBrincat, who will represent the Red Wings at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN+).

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on the Senators

"People make so much of them being a bad team. That's a really, really good team. They ran into probably some unfortunate luck with injuries. We went through it at times too. Sporadic goaltending is not fun."

Larkin on what Detroit needs to carry over this month to next

"A big emphasis for us is keeping goals out of our net. I think we've done a good job of that. Obviously you're going to have the odd night, but I think we always have a goal of two or less for the game. We've been right there a lot of times."

Veleno on the Red Wings' mentality heading into the extended break

"We're going to use this break to reset and rest up. I know we've had a couple bumps and bruises. I think just getting guys back gave us a lot of success too. I think guys were pretty fired up and excited to get bodies back into the lineup, some big key pieces. I think we just got to reset from the start. It's a grinding month. Whatever happened in January, we have to put it in the past although we did a lot of good things with our game."